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Zahnii Manul
History The Manul tribe is not regarded highly among the other tribes of the Wild Plains. They are much more diminutive than the other feline tribes, more fit to their rocky homes built into and carved out of cliff sides and underneath plateaus. Their choice of home made them rather secluded from others, very rarely does an outsider marry into the tribe. It is far more likely for one to go off on their own in search of a mate that may not be so closely related. The small population that results from this tends to skew the gender balance one way or another, with Zahnii being born into a time with more females than males. While other tribes may let the women hunt based on exposure to progressive ideas and the rest of the world, the Manul has done so for many years out of necessity. But it is how they hunt that largely darkens their name. They watch prey from above, adept at climbing steep rocky slopes, and wait for the poor beast to get within range before pouncing their prey with a flurry of tooth and claw. To the Manul this way of hunting is disciplined, as it requires great patience and balance, but to other tribes it is seen as cowardly and even disgraceful to Kytikó, but no Manul can say that they have ran from a battle. In these more modern times of exploration and slow, yet sweeping, progression the normally more tight-knight Manul clan is splintering and turning to in-fighting instead. Varying beliefs over how to adapt to the changing world are polarizing the community. The older members wishing for things to stay as they are, as the Manul have never listened to the other Tribes before, while the youth insist that if they don't jump into exploration they will truly be left in the dust and forgotten. It is with this thought that young Zahnii sets out to join the guild. The only surviving child of a litter of four, born to the great hunter Vandzir and his tireless wife Zorahr. It is not uncommon to lose most, or even an entire litter, but those who survive are sturdy and strong. It has been an uncommon event throughout Zahnii's life to find an explorer braving the plains below. They were initially met with great hostility, often loosing many supplies (or their life) in the resulting skirmish. It was from these pilfered goods that a young Zahnii encountered books (the Manul are more about oral tradition) and found maps of the greater world beyond. She became curious, but her parents regarded them as nothing more than outsider nonsense and fantasy. Though as she grew older and came into her own her kind also began to listen to the strange outsiders that would occasionally pass beneath them. They were from a thing called a Guild and Agriagi was a land of untapped potential, full of fame and glory locked behind a harsh untamed land. Zahnii was entranced, she knew that becoming a great explorer would bring honor to her tribe and it would also allow her to explore the lands from the books that she had been trying to decipher in secret. Her parents certainly didn't approve of her wishes to go off and join the explorers (and in all fairness they weren't too thrilled by the idea either). So, deciding she quite frankly had enough of her thoughts being pushed aside she waited for a day when she was selected for the hunt and slipped away. Character Appearance Short and stocky for what may come to mind for the typical feline Thári. She stands at just over 5ft tall and is a bulk of (deceptively) lean muscle and mottled fur (but mostly fur). Her fur is more ruddy in the warm seasons and silver in the cold, but her darker markings stay more or less the same. She has a boxy face, with short ears and large round amber eyes. She has a smile one can only describe as crooked and unflattering, her canines looking comically large for her mouth. She has black spots on her forehead, black stripes on her cheeks, and her fur shifts to a softer white under her chin and down her neck regardless of weather. Her tail is ringed with black. Personality Zahnii prides herself in her patience, a trait that is highly regarded in her tribe. Members of other races may find how she conducts herself to be eerily calm. She is a quiet sort, and observant. Her round eyes dart about as she takes in information about her surroundings. Some people might take her calm demeanor to mean she is a very thoughtful and intelligent sort but, that isn't quite right. She is, in fact, mostly illiterate. Though, she has been learning to read and write, and can sometimes be seen with picture books between her paws. But, the reason for her calm demeanor is simple: when one lives on steep cliffs one wrong move can end your life, and she knows this well. But, if she had one vice it would have to be her curiosity. Ever since she was a kitten she would dream of what the world outside held. It is this curiosity that drives her to learn to read proper and become an explorer. Orientation Skills Guild Accomplishments